FILE PHOTO: Artisanal miners pan for diamonds, which fuelled the 1991-2002 civil war, in the town of Koidu in eastern Sierra Leone April 21, 2012. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly/File Photo
JOHANNESBURG: Global diamond giant De Beers is rolling out an app to help small-scale, artisanal diamond miners in Sierra Leone certify that gems they pry from the soil are legal, the Anglo American unit said.
The initiative is the latest attempt by the industry to clean up its image and expunge the scourge of “blood diamonds” blamed for financing conflict, chaos and criminality in poor African countries, such as Sierra Leone and Liberia.
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